20demayo Page 2677
Page 2677
Zhao Yuan stopped dealing with state affairs and went directly to the inner palace to find Zhang Jinping and personally inform her of her father's death.
Zhang Jinping was taken aback at first, then slowly sat down.
He showed no signs of grief, but he seemed somewhat dazed, and the smile he had when he saw Zhao Yuan had not yet faded.
Zhao Yuan took her hand and said, "Why don't you go home and visit your family? Let Yang'er accompany you back."
“Okay.” Zhang Jinping’s smile turned bitter.
That evening, as Zhang Jinping thought about her father's life, countless memories came flooding back, and she finally burst into silent tears.
Zhao Yuan held her in his arms and gently patted her back.
Last year, Zheng Pangzi and Zheng Yuanyi's father died, and Zhao Yuan also asked the brother and sister to go home for the funeral.
On the other hand, Fatty Zheng's grandfather is surprisingly healthy and in good spirits. He's over eighty years old and still drinks alcohol and eats meat.
Grandma Yan is still alive, but she has poor eyesight and hearing, making life inconvenient for her.
Zhao Yuan began to recall the past, his previous life and this life, which seemed like a dream.
Several days later, Crown Prince Zhao Yang, accompanied by officials and guards, escorted his mother to Jiangxi for her funeral.
……
During the hot summer months, southern China is experiencing a severe drought, and Poyang Lake is nearly dry.
Northern provinces, which have been suffering from a prolonged spring drought, have been hit by torrential rains one after another, with some prefectures and counties even experiencing flooding.
Disasters are occurring in both the north and south; this climate is truly bizarre.
From the central government to local authorities, everyone is busy with disaster relief. This year is one of the worst years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
There were many strange and absurd stories among the people, complaining that the court's policies were problematic.
Zhao Yuan issued another order, instructing the Crown Prince not to rush back to Luoyang to report after burying his maternal grandfather.
You can stay in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Huainan to inspect the disaster situation, but do not interfere in disaster relief affairs indiscriminately. Instead, carefully observe the actions of local officials.
At the same time, he also ordered the imperial inspectors from the southern provinces to copy their recent work reports and give them to the crown prince.
In the blink of an eye, it's already autumn.
Yue Fei and Han Shizhong sent messages one after another: The war has broken out in the northern desert!
Because the Ming Dynasty controlled the southern grasslands and established two protectorates, and the Ongud tribe on the northern slopes of the Yin Mountains were very loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the northern tribes of the Gobi Desert did not dare to invade southward for the time being. After experiencing a severe drought on the grasslands this year, the Kereit tribe launched a war against the Mongol tribe.
Zhao Yuan immediately dispatched envoys, ordering the two tribes to resolve the dispute peacefully.
Then he ordered Yue Fei and Han Shizhong to observe the situation for the time being.
Only when one side suffers repeated defeats will troops be sent to help it recover its territory. In other words, the side that loses will be helped, and the unification of the northern grasslands will never be allowed.
Just as the Battle of Mobei was taking place, the Western Liao delegation arrived in Luoyang.
Chapter 3682 Testing the Waters
When Zhao Yuan received the news, he was somewhat surprised, not expecting Yelü Dashi to take the initiative to repair it.
Zhao Yuan did not immediately grant him an audience, but instead sent the Court of State Ceremonial to sound him out first.
Soon, the envoy from the Western Liao Dynasty explained their purpose: they were offering thirty fine horses, intending to forge an eternal brotherhood with the Ming Dynasty.
Merchants from the Ming Dynasty could travel freely within the territory of the Western Liao Dynasty as long as they possessed official documents.
In addition, the Western Liao wanted to acquire a batch of Buddhist scriptures, Confucian classics, eminent monks, and Confucian scholars.
Ma Kuo, who had already been transferred to the Privy Council, was summoned by Zhao Yuan for questioning: "Have you ever dealt with this Western Liao envoy, Xiao Chala Abu, before?"
Ma Kuo said, "When Emperor Tianzuo was still alive, this person was the Associate Administrator of the Privy Council of the Liao Dynasty."
"He and another general, Xiao Wulila, were known as Yelü Dashi's right-hand men."
"His delegation to the Ming Dynasty demonstrates Yelü Dashi's sincerity."
"Is Buddhism prevalent in Gaochang?" Zhao Yuan asked.
Ma Kuo replied, "When I was previously sent as an envoy to the northern desert, I passed through the Gaochang Uyghur territory."
"The largest number of Buddhists there are the Nestorian Christians."
"Next are Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, and Shamanism."
Zhao Yuan was extremely shocked: "Gaochang is actually the second most important church in the Nestorian Church?"
Ma Kuo nodded and said, "That's right. The Kereit tribe, which fought against the Mongols in the northern desert, and the Ongud tribe on the northern slopes of the Yin Mountains, all had chieftains and nobles who were Nestorian Christians."
Zhao Yuan: "..."
Zhao Yuan was genuinely unaware of this situation.
Historically, the mothers of figures like Möngke Khan and Kublai Khan were Nestorian Christians from the Kereit tribe.
After she died of illness, Kublai Khan personally ordered that a sacrifice be held at the Shizi Temple in Ganzhou.
After Zhao Yuan inquired in detail, Ma Kuo answered carefully, quickly dispelling the emperor's doubts.
While Nestorianism is indeed a branch of Christianity, it was absolutely considered heresy in Europe.
This school of thought actually separates Jesus' divinity from his humanity.
It has become very secular and has lost its exclusivity; Han Chinese even refer to Nestorianism as Persian religion.
Especially in the Turpan region, where Buddhists and Nestorian Christians are the most numerous, intermarriage between believers of the two religions has become commonplace.
Monks and priests also interacted amicably, even absorbing each other's doctrines... Zhao Yuan could hardly imagine such a scene.
On the contrary, Manichaeism was the most exclusive among the Gaochang Uyghurs.
Manichaeism was an extremely well-organized religion and at one time became the state religion of the Gaochang Uyghurs, with a large number of followers in high society.
At that time, Turpan was a veritable melting pot of religions.
Yelü Dashi also wanted to introduce Confucianism, and he did indeed do so in history.
It wasn't until Qiu Chuji traveled to the Western Regions that he discovered there were Confucian scholars in Central Asia, and quite a few of them. The Western Liao Dynasty made an invaluable contribution to this.
……
Xiao Chala Abu has different names in different historical records in the East and West.
For example, Erbus, who led a large army to force the surrender of Ajis and brought Khwarazm under the control of the Western Liao Dynasty.
It is actually the name of Xiaochala'a, who is not in Central Asia and West Asia.
He not only understands Chinese and knows Chinese characters, but also has some knowledge of Confucianism.
Having traveled all the way from Shaanxi to Luoyang, Xiao Chalaa carefully observed the area and discovered that people lived in peace and prosperity within the Ming Dynasty.
When he planned to return to report, he advised Yelü Dashi to completely abandon the idea of an eastern expedition and to focus on developing in Central Asia from now on.
After several days of contact with officials of the Court of State Ceremonial, Xiao Chala Abu finally gained an audience with the emperor.
"Xiao Chala Abu, a subject of the Great Liao, pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming, and conveys the greetings of the Emperor of the Great Liao to His Majesty!"
Xiao Chala Abu bowed properly, his accent being very standard Northern Mandarin.
Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "Please also give my regards to Da Shi Lin Ya. Please take a seat."
Ma Kuo sat down beside him, cupped his hands and said, "Brother Xiao, it's been a long time."
Xiao Chala Abu returned the greeting with a cupped hand, and said with great joy, "It has been several years since we last met. To see an old friend today is truly the greatest joy of my life."
The two reminisced for a while, and Zhao Yuan occasionally exchanged a few polite words.
After Xiao Chala Abu had drunk a few cups of wine, Zhao Yuan asked, "I heard that Yelü Dashi established a Western Liao Kingdom?"
“It was the Liao Dynasty that moved westward!” Xiao Chala Abu corrected.
Zhao Yuan did not argue, but smiled and raised his cup: "A hero is a hero no matter where he is. I, from Luoyang, respectfully offer a cup to Yelü Dashi."
"On behalf of my lord, I thank Your Majesty for your kindness!"
Xiao Chala Abu was all smiles, having a very good impression of Zhao Yuan, and felt that this emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a true wise ruler.
After drinking another cup, Zhao Yuan asked, "I can understand seeking eminent monks and Buddhist scriptures. But why does Yelü Dashi want to seek Confucian scholars and Confucian scriptures?"
Xiao Chala Abu had a set of arguments, which Yelü Dashi had taught him: "Your Majesty, whether it is the Liao Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, or even the former Song Dynasty, we all belong to the Yanhuang ethnic group."
“But the Western Regions are different. They are not of our race, so their hearts must be different.”
"When His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Liao Dynasty first conquered the Black Khanate, he still hoped that all ethnic groups and religions could coexist peacefully."
"But the sects there are so stubborn and inflexible that they must be educated using Confucian classics over a long period of time."
Chapter 3683 Spreading the Buddha's Teachings
Zhao Yuan suddenly understood why Yelü Dashi allowed Ming merchants to travel freely.
This was done to increase the number of Han Chinese in the Western Liao territory and attract more Han Chinese merchants to settle there.
Xiao Chala Abu continued, "His Majesty intends to promote more Confucian scholars to official positions."
"We should also have Confucian scholars educate the local people and let the people of the Western Regions read the books of sages and worthies."
Zhao Yuan did not oppose this; in fact, he actively supported it.
Zhao Yuan said, "I'm afraid proper Confucian scholars would not be willing to go to the Western Regions."
"But there are many eminent monks in the Ming Dynasty, and they will certainly be willing to spread Buddhism."
"Many of these eminent monks also studied Confucian classics, which could be used to educate foreign peoples with the books of sages."
“That’s fine too,” Xiao Chala’a said unhappily. “The more eminent monks well-versed in Confucianism, the better. As long as they arrive in Liao, they will certainly be treated with great favor.”
"We will also select a group of orphans from other ethnic groups to stay with them as students."
"These orphans from other races are the beginning of our education; there will be more and more of them in the future."
In terms of social influence at the time, Song Dynasty Buddhism was dominated by Chan and Tiantai schools, with the rest being classified as "other schools".
Besides its close ties with Confucianism, Zen Buddhism has also become very secular, integrating spiritual practice with daily life.
They could discuss metaphysics with scholars and were also good at telling ordinary people anecdotes.
The decline of other sects was mainly due to the persecution of Buddhism at the end of the Tang Dynasty and the wars during the Five Dynasties period.
If they can't even find all of their own Buddhist scriptures, how can they possibly revitalize the country?
The revival of the Tiantai school originated during the reign of King Qian Chu of Wuyue.
He sent people to seek Buddhist scriptures from Korea and Japan, and obtained more than 500 volumes of scriptures from the Tiantai school.
If that were all, then the Tiantai school would have flourished in the Wu and Yue regions.
The true rise of this faction stemmed from internal divisions.
Of the hundreds of Buddhist scriptures retrieved from overseas, some were incomplete, some had been modified, and some were even forgeries of unknown origin.
Amidst controversies surrounding Buddhist scriptures, the Siming branch of the Tiantai school launched a debate against the orthodox Qiantang branch of the Tiantai school.
Ultimately, the collateral branch won the debate and became the orthodox one, while the orthodox one was denounced as heresy.
This wasn't the end of it. The Siming faction, which had just become the orthodox one, split again and engaged in fierce debates.
This debate has lasted for eighty years; it is the conflict between the Buddhist community and those outside the community!
While observing the gossip in their daily lives, people from other Buddhist sects have also gained a better understanding of the Tiantai school.
They quietly absorbed the theories of the Tiantai school, and some even simply merged into the Tiantai school.
……
In autumn, the Buddha's tooth relic from Shandong was brought back to Kaifeng.
The two Buddha teeth converged in the two capitals, quickly attracting eminent monks from all over the country.
High-ranking monks from various sects paid homage to the Buddha's tooth relic and held various Buddhist ceremonies, taking turns to preach to believers.
As they talked, a debate ensued.
The Chan and Tiantai schools debated with each other, and there were also internal debates within each school.